Tag Archives: corruplast

In an afternoon, some donated corruplast signage from Bike wRider, fender hardware spanning several decades from Off The Chain bike co-op in Anchorage, and several dollars of aluminum door threshold sourced from the hardware store become a fatbike fender. The whole thing was assembled with a Crank Brothers multitool, some standard M5 nuts and bolts, and the leather punch on a Swiss-Army knife. The aluminum threshold material is extremely lightweight and bends easily, while retaining enough rigidity in use. The corruplast has proven its durability all summer, despite a variety of abuse. It is best to align the corruplast “with the grain”, as it will bend and crimp in the opposite direction. The modified Nitto M18 rack is integrated into the design, and the steel tang shown below was eventually removed as the aluminum fender rib served the same purpose. I did not expect the fenders to last through the entire summer, but they show no signs of letting up. Eventually, I made a front mudflap from duct tape and reflective ribbon, and the rear mudflap was sourced from a broken Planet Bike fender. DIY fatbike fenders– Take America Back!

First, bend the aluminum and locate the holes. Drill, and install to the frame. It is nice that the Surly Pugsley has proper threaded fender mounts on the inside of the seatstay and chainstay bridges, despite few commercially available fenders in this size.

At first, the flat steel rack mount was used, but was later removed as it was redundant.

Locate the holes to bolt the rack to the frame of the fender. The Nitto rack is made of tubular Cro-Mo, while the struts are solid aluminum with steel hardware. I removed the backstop support of the rack, simply by bending and breaking it The sharp fragments of brass filler are covered by the red electrical tape. In the future I might do all of this differently, although with the knowledge that it has lasted all summer I cannot complain. This was my final project before leaving Anchorage this spring. While a but crude, I wasn’t going to let the planning phase encroach on the ride.

Clearance is a little tight with the modern top-pull front derailleur. A little bending will do.

In addition to the Nitto Rack stays, a chromed steel fender stay from an old ballon-tire bike was used. Made of low-grade steel, it was easy to widen and bend to shape.

After installing the aluminum and mounting all the bolts, I removed all the parts and reinstalled with the corruplast. There is excessive clearance for the 60mm tire, but the design is intended to fit a full-sized fat tire.

A Carradice saddlebag typically mounts to the seatpost, but with a bag support I find I can fit several drybags between the the bag and the seatpost. Aside from extra capacity, this method reduces swaying common with saddlebags, and provides some cushion to my MacBook which is stored vertically in the Carradice Camper. A basic nylon gear strap holds thing in place.

Ideally, the corruplast is used in the other direction, “with the grain”. It does work in this orientation, but it tends to bend into a ridged shape like corrugated cardboard.

This direction gives a clean bend and holds a nice shape.

60mm Schwalbe Big Apple tires on 65mm rims roll well on pavement, allowing a handful of hundred mile days. On dirt and gravel roads, traction is a bit scant. I might select something with a little more tread next time, even if only the Schwalbe Fat Frank tire. For a more aggressive tread in this tire size, there is the Maxxis Holy Roller 2.4″, Kenda K-Rad 2.5″ and the Kenda Slant Six 2.5″. There are other options with considerably more aggressive tread patterns for downhill use, but they also approach the weight of a proper 4″ fat tire. The Big Apple is a little lighter than the smooth Black Floyd tires available from Surly, and as I expected, are quite durable and puncture-resistant. I didn’t have a single flat from Anchorage all the way to Bozeman, Montana. When I fit fat tires, I sent the Big Apples back to Anchorage where Bike wRider intends to finish them off.

I like a bike with fenders and powerful dynamo lighting. The Pugsley has been my daily transportation for almost a year, and these features make it comfortable and safe in all conditions. I have little time on the Pusgley without the fender, except in a frozen Alaskan winter when it is unnecessary, but one of Joe’s considerations after touring on the Pugsley in the summer of 2010 was that a fender would combat the “unusual amount of spray in the wet”. I still experience some overspray onto my feet while riding fast in extremely wet conditions, such as on pavement. Overall, I remain clean and dry.

The Take America Back slogan was part of Joe Miller’s unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2010. He was a vocal Tea Party candidate, but lost to Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski, a write-in candidate in the race.